'Rs 14,500cr generated through BHARAT 22 ETF'

The Central Government revealed that an amount of Rs 14,500 crore has been raised through its BHARAT 22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), which was created to benefit long-term and retail investors by providing an opportunity to purchase equity stocks of government-run companies and earn stable returns.

The figures were stated by Minister of State for Finance, P Radhakrishnan, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The objective of BHARAT 22 ETF is to invest in constituents (22 companies) of S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index and endeavour to provide returns before expenses, which closely correspond to the total returns of the index.

The fund comprises of 22 stocks of listed Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), Strategic Holdings of Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) and Public Sector Banks (PSBs).

Since its inception, the fund has been received positively; it gained subscription of approximately Rs 32,000 crore from 3,35,000 applications, thus registering the highest ever New Fund Offer (NFO) collection in the history of mutual funds in India.

Moreover, the total issue was subscribed around four times.

The response from FPIs and FIIs was also huge and they subscribed to the tune of approximately Rs 10,000 crore in the anchor and non-anchor categories.

Owing to this, the government in November decided to increase the NFO size of BHARAT 22 ETF from Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 14,500 crore to cater to the demand of retail investors and retirement funds.